JAKARTA, Indonesia — It’s going to be Carlos Yulo’s turn to grab the spotlight as he competes in the finals of the men’s artistic gymnastics competition of the 18th Asian Games at the Jakarta International Expo Hall here.
The 18-year-old Yulo marches to action at 5 p.m. (6 p.m. in Manila) Thursday as he hunts for the country’s second gold medal after the triumphant performance by weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz.
Based on his performance in the qualifiers Monday night, Yulo has a golden chance of emerging victorious and become the youngest Filipino Asian Games gold medalist since Lydia de Vega won the mint in the New Delhi edition in 1982 at 17 years old.
He topped his pet routine — floor exercise — with an impressive score of 14.500 points while landing sixth in the vault routine with 13.950 points.
His effort in all six routines, including horizontal bar, parallel bars, rings and pommel horse, sent him to the finals as he emerged in the eighth spot of the individual all-around with 80.750 points behind gymnasts from powerhouse countries China and Japan.
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Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion believes Yulo still has a lot to show.
“He didn’t want to show everything. He was still hiding something. He just wanted to qualify,” Carrion, also a board member of the Philippine Olympic Committee, told Daily Tribune’s Asiad coverage supported by Primehomes.
“But in the finals, expect him to give his 100 percent. That’s the time he’s going to show off. That’s the time he’s going to give his all and you will see the real Caloy Yulo.”
Yulo, who has been training in Japan for the past three years under the tutelage of noted mentor Munehiro Kugomiya and with the assistance of the Japanese Gymnastics Federation in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, said he is ready to make his presence felt.
Although he wasn’t satisfied with his performance in the qualifiers, he will go hard in the finals to award the country its second gold medal.
“I waited long for this Asian Games, so I will do everything to win the gold,” said Yulo, who won the bronze medal in the vault routine of the World Cup Gymnastics in Melbourne before winning the silver medal in the men’s floor event of the Doha World Cup in Qatar last March.
